Richie Saunders talks emotional decision to turn down Mark Pope and Kentucky

BYU guard Richie Saunders did what every player does when their coach takes another job, certainly when it’s a tight-knit relationship and a high-profile opportunity. He felt it was in his best interest to explore his options, Kentucky being one of them with Mark Pope.

After spending two seasons together in Provo and signing with the Cougars during the 2020 recruiting cycle, followed by a two-year mission away from basketball, BYU and its culture is all the Riverton, UT native has ever known.

But maybe it was time for a fresh start elsewhere?

“We spent a lot of time praying and truly trying to figure it out together. We felt like we needed to step in the portal, which was hard. I didn’t think that would ever happen,” Saunders said in an interview with BYU TV this week. “We started in the portal and we just really had to see what our next move was and what was best for us. We took visits and looked around at some other schools, which was so cool, because there are so many cool opportunities everywhere.”

Among those visits? Lexington, met at the airport by Pope and his wife, Lee Anne. And he’d be lying if he told you Kentucky didn’t have everything he was looking for — a perfect experience and potential situation for him and his own wife.

Saunders got choked up thinking about what the opportunity meant and how close he was to becoming a Wildcat.

“It could not have gotten any better. Lee Anne Pope is one of my favorite people in the world. I almost get a little emotional thinking about that. It was a really cool opportunity, it could have been really cool. We could totally see ourselves there,” Saunders said. “Having Pope and (Cody Fueger) and knowing that system, knowing that I fit in there and the way they work stuff, like, what an opportunity? We don’t take that lightly at all. It’s not like we were just like, ‘Oh, that’s cool,’ right?

“It was actually something that was like — it was just really, really cool there. I know that they’re going to be extremely successful. If I know the Popes, I know that they’re gonna work harder than a lot of people to win. And I know that they’re going to do that.”

He considered a few different options and then traveled to Central America with his wife to isolate themselves and pray over a final decision. During that time, he thought back to his life as a diehard BYU fan and dreaming of becoming a Cougar one day. Their taxi driver was even a BYU fan and talked Cougar hoops with them, as hard as they tried to disconnect from the chaos of life back home.

Saunders just felt the tug bringing him back to Provo, as much as it hurt turning Pope down. And that’s what the standout guard and his wife decided to do.

“I love BYU. I’ve been the kid at the top of the bleachers in the Marriott Center looking down, just praying and wanting so badly for BYU to win. I’ve been there,” Saunders said. “I just didn’t know if that’s where God needed us to be. That right there alone, it was really, really hard. Thinking about having to start somewhere else and move our lives, all of those little details. We’ve loved it, we’ve absolutely loved it here. We just wanted to make the right choice. …

“We were sitting in Guatemala in this hotel and we just had this little push of just — we need to stay. A lot has led up to that, but there was just the slightest of little promptings that was like, we’ve just got to stay. There were cool opportunities everywhere and we could actually see ourselves in these different spots. But it’s been awesome, it’s been such a relief to be back. … I love this place.”

Tough to argue with that choice and how he came to the decision. Saunders would have been a fan favorite in Lexington, but if Provo is home, it’s home.